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Pest Indentification - Common UK insect pests
Please scroll through the images below and select the 'Contact Us' button if you recognise your pest. Otherwise, please select 'Unknown.'
Bed Bugs
Found some unexplained reddish brown spots on your bedding or black mould looking marks on your mattress? Been bitten while slumbering? Returned from a holiday or hotel stay recently?
The main reason for controlling bed bugs is that they bite. Although there are no known disease risks associated with bed bug bites, they can cause acute irritation and distress. Everyone reacts differently to a bed bug bite; some develop red, irritating marks and lumps, while others do not react to the bites at all. The bites can be itchy and cause painful swelling, with excessive scratching sometimes leading to infections. Bed bugs also cause mental distress in prolonged situations.
Bed bugs are easily introduced into a property by 'hitchhiking' via clothing, luggage, second hand furniture, public transport and other modes. Most common in buildings such as student accommodation, care homes, shared housing and other high density housing arrangements.
Please try to obtain photo evidence which may be requested.
Having problems with Bed Bugs? Click the 'Contact Us' button below for a quote.
Fleas
Is your pet fidgeting and scratching an unusual amount? Spotted something jumping around on the carpet? Discovering there are fleas in your home is distressing and, due to their lifecycle, can be an uphill battle to control.
Fleas are ectoparasitic insects, meaning they live on the outside of a host animal. They feed on the blood of mammals and birds.
In the UK at least, fleas do not commonly spread disease. However, flea bites can cause intense irritation and itching to pets and humans alike. The most problematic aspect of a flea bite on humans is the infection which can be caused by prolonged itching when left untreated. Flea bites have been known to cause skin complaints, and can also exacerbate respiratory illnesses and cause complications.
If your pet has fleas, it will suffer from a great deal of discomfort and could also have an allergic reaction to the flea’s saliva. Lengthy periods of infestation can cause your pet to develop anaemia from the loss of blood, although this is rare.
Please try to obtain photo evidence which may be requested.
Having problems with Fleas? Click the 'Contact Us' button below for a quote.
Cockroaches
Got some uninvited dinner guests? Is the back of your fridge, under your sink or those cracks in your kitchen tiles home to a colony of creepy crawlies? Seen them crawling across your worktops?
Discovering there are cockroaches in your home or business is unhygienic and distressing to say the least.
Two of the most common types of cockroach pest in the UK are the Oriental cockroach (Blatta orientalis) and the German cockroach (Blattella germanica).
Cockroaches pose a direct health risk to humans. They are vectors of disease, known to carry the organisms which cause food poisoning in humans and many other bacteria, such as salmonella.
Cockroaches move from sewers, drains into buildings and human habitats. This means that when they’re in your building, foraging for food and water, they will contaminate anything they come into contact with; food, utensils, and preparation surfaces. They disgorge portions of their partially digested food at intervals and drop faeces along the way.
Please try to obtain photo evidence which may be requested.
Having problems with Cockroaches? Click the 'Contact Us' button below for a quote.
Ants
The commonest species that invades houses is the Black Garden Ant, which is actually very dark brown. These are from 3 to 5mm in length and are attracted to sweet foodstuffs which they take back to the nest to feed to the larvae and queen.
Flying ants are the reproductive males and females. These mating ants are winged and have a nuptial swarming flight during only a few days in July or August. Mating takes place in the air and the female then seeks out a nest site where she stays for the winter, laying eggs the following spring in order to start up a new colony.
Some centrally heated blocks of flats may be troubled by the much smaller tropical Pharoah ants, which prefers protein to sweet foods and has multiple - and often inaccessible – nests within the building structure.
Please try to obtain photo evidence which may be requested.
Having problems with Ants? Click the 'Contact Us' button below for a quote.
Flies
A family of two-winged polluters that is, too often, tolerated within our homes. Apart from the biting flies, all species feed by vomiting saliva onto the food surface and sucking up the resulting liquid. While doing so, the fly contaminates the food with bacteria from its gut and its feet. Thus, it may transmit food poisoning and diseases. The eggs of parasitic worms may also be carried by flies.
There are several fly species that enter homes. These include bluebottles, fruit flies, drain flies and cluster flies. Cluster flies may return to the same location year after year.
Please try to obtain photo evidence which may be requested.
Having problems with Flies? Click the 'Contact Us' button below for a quote.
Wasps and Hornets
Are you worried about wasp stings? Have you found a wasps’ nest?
One of Britain’s most feared and potentially aggressive pests, wasps are known for their nasty stings and seemingly unprovoked attacks. Wasps will only usually attack a person if they feel threatened. The problem is a social wasp in distress emits a pheromone that sends nearby colony members into a defensive, stinging frenzy.
If you’re sensitive to wasp stings then they can send you into anaphylaxis - a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. Children, elderly people, those with allergies, and household pets are particularly sensitive to wasp stings.
Wasps are likely to make their nests in sheltered spots such as under trees, in bushes, in wall cavities, under eaves, in loft spaces and in your shed or garage.
Wasp or bee? It’s easy for you to mistake bees for wasps. The way we treat bees and wasps are very different. Bees are an important, beneficial species rarely considered a pest. Professional pest controllers only treat bees' nests if it’s a significant threat to public health as last resort. Bees of all types are essential to our ecosystems, being the highest number of pollinating insects.
Hornets are about twice the size of the common wasp and brown and yellow instead of black and yellow. They build nests in hollow trees and similar sites. They only occasionally enter houses.
Please try to obtain photo evidence which may be requested.
Having problems with Wasps or Hornets? Click the 'Contact Us' button below for a quote.
Varied Carpet Beetle
The larvae (known as “woolly bears”) of these small, oval beetles have outstripped the clothes moths as the major British textile pest.
The larvae are small (about 4mm long), covered in brown hairs, and tend to roll up when disturbed. As they grow, they moult - and the old cast-off skins may be the first sign of infestation. Adults are often seen in April, May and June, seeking egg-laying sites; and the grubs are most active in October before they hibernate.
The adult Carpet Beetle feeds only on pollen and nectar of garden flowers but lays its eggs in old birds’ nests, felt, fabric or accumulated fluff in buildings. It is the larvae from these eggs that do the damage. They feed on feathers, fur, hair, or wool and tend to wander along the pipes from roofs into airing cupboards and living areas - which house the clothes, blankets and carpets, which constitute the food.
Please try to obtain photo evidence which may be requested.
Having problems with Carpet Beetles? Click the 'Contact Us' button below for a quote.
Clothes Moths and Carpet Moths
Are your clothes looking a bit more than “fashionably ripped”? Has your carpet fallen victim to hungry moth larvae?
While most moths found in the UK are harmless, a few are considered to be pests. They aren’t known to spread disease, and they don’t bite humans.
Clothes Moths and Carpet Moths can do incredible damage to property.
The adults do not have a mouth, live for approximately 1 week and do no damage as they do not feed or drink. It is the larvae which hatch from the sticky eggs that eat wool, hair, fur or feathers - with a preference for blankets, wool carpets, wool garments or upholstery. This can lead to costly damage to items of sentimental or monetary value.
It is thought that moths can also exacerbate allergy symptoms or cause allergic reactions in some people.
Please try to obtain photo evidence which may be requested.
Having problems with Moths? Click the 'Contact Us' button below for a quote.
Unknown/Unsure
Having problems with an unknown / unsure about a pest? Click the 'Contact Us' button below for a quote.
Please include the following information in your enquiry. This will enable us to respond more swiftly.
Duration of infestation?
Including the duration of the infestation will give us a good indication of initial action to be taken.
Photo/video eveidence?
Please attach clear photo / video evidence of the pest. It is important to correctly identify pests before any further steps are taken.
Affected areas?
Include the areas of the property affected. Also include number of bedrooms.
Your contact details?
Please include your name, telephone number, email address and your postcode.
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